Dana White says more than 1,500 Las Vegas shooting first responders will be at UFC 216

Earlier this week, another mass shooting rocked America.

This time, it took place in MMA’s capital city of Las Vegas. An alleged lone gunman killed 58 people and injured more than 500 at a country music festival that took place on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip across the street from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino late Sunday.

Las Vegas is home to hundreds of fighters and fight personalities. It’s the home base of the UFC, which on Saturday hosts UFC 216 at T-Mobile Arena, just a short distance up the Strip from where the massacre took place.

Today, UFC President Dana White told TSN in Canada that the promotion will host more than 1,500 first responders from the shooting, and expects several people injured during the shooting to be on hand, as well.

“I have 1,500-plus first responders coming to the fight on Saturday: police officers, firefighters, EMTs, medical staff,” White told TSN. “All people that were involved in saving people’s lives. And (we’re) probably going to have six or seven of the people that were shot here on Saturday night. This show is going to be unlike any show you’ve ever seen the UFC produce.”

White said he turned on live coverage of the shooting’s aftermath once he heard what was happening.

“I turned the news on and I started to see it,” White said. “I was up all night watching. It was surreal. It’s very surreal to believe this was happening right down the street from where I live and where my kids are sleeping.

“We were just hoping that everyone was OK. We were checking on all of our employees, we were checking on all of our fighters, and we’re so lucky and we’re so happy to learn no one (from the UFC) was hurt or killed. We’re so lucky that none of our guys or girls were injured.”

Alleged gunman Stephen Paddock was found dead in a 32nd-floor room at Mandalay Bay. Investigators have not yet uncovered a motive for the shooting.

UFC 216 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC 216, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.